February 8, 2019
PHC Corporation of North America
Wood Dale, IL, February 8, 2019 – PHC Corporation of North America and PHC Europe B.V. are proud to be Gold Sponsors of the International Freezer Challenge, an initiative of My Green Lab, a California-based non-profit established to enhance sustainability through all phases of scientific research. The Freezer Challenge was created to draw attention to challenges and successes associated with archival storage of biologicals and other life forms at low temperatures sufficient to preserve generations of research.
As a leading worldwide provider of ultra-low temperature and cryogenic storage freezers to the scientific community, PHC Corporation continues to support global sustainability objectives through research and development, logistics and manufacturing processes.
According to Joe LaPorte, Product Director, PHC Corporation of North America, the Freezer Challenge is an opportunity to showcase advances in ultra-low temperature freezer design, ENERGY STAR® certification and other improvements to the entire line of PHCbi brand freezers.
"We view the Freezer Challenge as another commitment to a social responsibility ingrained in every product we sell. We understand and appreciate the need for reproducibility in scientific investigation, and we share the vision of My Green Lab and others who are bringing innovative ideas to bear on clinical, pharmaceutical, medical and academic research", emphasizes LaPorte.
"Our entire corporation is dedicated to helping our customers improve their work flow and energy profiles by making educated decisions about the true life cycle costs of laboratory equipment over useful life."
Allison Paradise, founder and CEO of My Green Lab, says the evolution of ultra-low temperature freezer technology is a microcosm of how sustainability can be viewed. "Sustainability initiatives should reduce the environmental impact of laboratories without compromising research. The Freezer Challenge was created to help scientists manage their cold storage units and samples in a way that reduces overall energy consumption, minimizes waste, improves the performance of their cold storage units, and better protects their samples. We are thrilled to see freezer manufacturers approaching product development with a broader emphasis on all aspects of sustainability".
Paradise added that the Freezer Challenge is an opening to a deeper discussion about sustainability on a facility or global level, one that considers energy, water, landfill diversion and stewardship of resources. "Improved maintenance of freezers ensures better protection of precious samples. Discarding samples that are no longer needed ensures that labs not purchasing freezers they may not actually need".
The International Laboratory Freezer Challenge is a nationwide competition that rewards best practices in cold storage management. Many of these best practices also result in significant energy savings. PHC Corporation expects the impact of the Challenge will benefit the scientific community around the world as cost savings in equipment operation are reinvested in basic research in support of drug discovery, regenerative medicine and leading-edge clinical treatments.